Blindness: Week 3

In chapter 13 the Invisible Man witnesses an eviction of an old couple that he manages to identify with. He gives a passionate speech that stirs the crowd into action and sparks the interest of a lurking figure that follows him until he can introduce himself as 'Brother Jack'. Brother Jack gives the Invisible Man his number and is not surprised at all when he gets in contact with him. The Invisible Man is hesitant at first, but as he learns more about the Brotherhoods motives he finds himself growing increasingly excited about the affair. So much so, that he fails to realize that the Brotherhood is just another Dr.Bledsoe, Brockway, and every other person in his life that has taken advantage of him. "It was unbelievable," he says, "yet strangely exciting and I had the sense of being present at the creation of important events..."(306). What the Invisible Man is still blind to, is the fact that he must always be attached to something to feel of greater importance, to have even substance. He is not truly a person unless he is connected to a place (the college) or an object (Dr.Bledsoe's letters) or a group of people(The Brotherhood). We saw the deception take place with Dr.Bledsoe, and now we are seeing the same deceit occur with The Brotherhood. "But don't you think he should be a little blacker?"(303) one of the female members asks Brother Jack during the gathering. She inquires because perhaps the blacker he is the more he will be able to 'relate' to the people, the more profound of a figurehead he will be, a better propaganda tool. Like most people in the novel the do not think of the Invisible Man as a person, as an individual. Just like the vet described it to Mr.Norton, "an amphorus black thing," is exactly as he is perceived by The Brotherhood, and yet the Invisible Man still is blind to this! His longing to be a part of something greater is clouding his judgment, and even with the underlying prejudice utterings of the drunk signing man and the harsh criticism from the other members, he still cannot, no refuses to see! "I feel, I feel suddenly that I have become more human," he cries on pg. 346, when truly he is seen as not a human, but merely a pawn.